Questions concerned comprehension and understanding the finer aspects of individual words or phrases, with or without a context in which they are expressed.
2
votes
6answers
1k views
What shoud I use to say “I love you”: “wa ai lo” or “wo ai ni”?
Some of my chinese friends speak Chinese. I asked them how to say "I love you" in their language, but most of them said "wa ai lo" not "wo ai ni", how can this be?
I look for google translate, it ...
2
votes
2answers
126 views
Is there a Chinese equivalent of the German “Mut zur Lücke”?
In German, we have the expression "Mut zur Lücke", in English something like "courage to have a gap" - a knowledge gap. It is used between students, when they skip to learn something for an exam.
...
2
votes
3answers
288 views
Why do native speakers often say a character has “no meaning”?
Many times I will know all the characters in a name but one & I'll ask what that one character means. 9 times out of 10 the response is, "That character has no meaning".
While it might be true ...
2
votes
1answer
71 views
Is 级 necessary in 优先级
From the dictionary I gather that 优先 by itself means "priority" and so 优先级 means "level of priority".
In a phrase such as 高优先级，or 最高优先级，is the 级 necessary to sound correct, or is it an optional ...
2
votes
1answer
106 views
Is there a logical explanation why 非得不 and 非得 means must?
I understand that 非 and 不 have negative meanings by themselves, and 得 means "must"
by itself. So with a double negative, which means affirmative positive. So far so good.
But 非得 by itself is also ...
2
votes
1answer
73 views
Usage of 感动 (active/passive?)
According to mdbg.net 感动 means both 'to move (emotionally)' and 'moving'.
But from what I understand from some texts I have '邻居们都很感动' implying a more passive meaning for 感动.
Can someone shed some ...
2
votes
4answers
124 views
What is the difference between 秀才, 进士, 举人, and 甲第?
秀才、进士、举人、甲第那些单词有什么区别？好像它们都是指在中国古代科举制度下成绩特高的考生。准确的区别是什么？哪些至今还在使用？
(麻烦大家帮忙改正中文错误！)
What is the difference between 秀才, 进士, 举人, and 甲第? They all seem to refer to students who did particularly well ...
2
votes
2answers
172 views
What is the difference between 别人 and 别的人?
What is there difference between these two expressions, or are they synonmyous?
2
votes
4answers
151 views
How can I translate “精神需要”?
This is an example sentence in my textbook:
"建立良好的人际关系，是每个社会人的精神需要"
精神 is translated in the dictionary into "spirit, mind, consciousness". Here I believe it must be modifying 需要, which is acting ...
2
votes
2answers
115 views
What is the meaning and proper usage of 凭什么？
I was watching a TV show and heard them using the expression 凭什么 to say 'why' - I hadn't heard it with this exact meaning before, so I'm wondering what the proper meaning is in English, and what the ...
2
votes
1answer
55 views
What does […] 给盯背过去 mean?
The full sentence was more or less:
差点没把人家给盯背过去
I was wondering if it was a phrase, or if it just meant that they were staring at the person's back.
2
votes
3answers
200 views
What does 糗大 (qiǔdà) mean?
What does 糗大 (qiǔdà) mean in the following phrase?
那才真的糗大了。
From context, I think it ought to mean something like "that would really be terrible" or "that would be far worse," but I can't find ...
1
vote
4answers
176 views
What is 被 doing in sentence “这种病在三十年前就被根除了”?
I understand that the sentence means something like "This disease was eradicated 30 years ago", but I have no idea what role does 被 have in it?
Is the sentence okay if we remove it? Does it convey ...
1
vote
4answers
127 views
回去回来 回来回去 来来回回 来来去去 Are they the same?
In this post, Juckele mention two terms completely new to me : 回去回来 and 回来回去.
I know
来来回回 Things keep going in circle, usually use to describe situation in life
来来去去 Same as above
But what about ...
1
vote
2answers
171 views
What does 就算这次做错也只是怕错过 mean?
I found this sentence in a song's lyrics => " 就算这次做错也只是怕错过 ". What does it mean?
1
vote
3answers
140 views
Difference between 最高领导人 and 主要领导人之一?
I've just been looking at the wikipedia entry for Xi Jinping and the word used for the position he will be taken on Wikipedia is incumbent "paramount leader" with paramount leader pointing to this ...
1
vote
3answers
156 views
How to translate/use 一巧
All of a sudden in my course we've started using "一巧" everywhere, and I really do not understand it at all.
example:
尽管我很喜欢这张唱片，可是我一巧也开始喜欢它，想到以后可以跟一巧一起听音乐，我决定把这张唱片给他。
which I understand all of, ...
1
vote
2answers
181 views
Why in China do they use k instead of m for the slope of a line?
In china they write y = kx + b
Just wondering if there was a reason.
1
vote
2answers
146 views
才 in the sense of “only”
What does 才 mean in this sentence?
妈妈说，鼻子长才是漂亮。
(Quote taken from a nursery rhyme.)
After looking in the dictionary my best guess is that it means "just" or "only", so as to make the ...
1
vote
1answer
145 views
When is it appropriate to use 先生?
I'm trying to figure out when the title 先生 is used. Is it used for Mr., husband, honorary person, or something else? 谢谢
1
vote
4answers
130 views
When to use 家 vs 师 vs 员 vs 者
I'm translating my resume into Chinese so I can maybe apply for a Chinese job.
There are a number of items on there where I'm not sure when to use 家, 师, 员, or 者.
Example, I developed a comics ...
1
vote
1answer
91 views
Meaning of 泡
I first encountered this word in the brand of a kid's drink, O泡. When I looked it up I saw that it meant something like "bubble", and was (ironically for the name of a drink) the classifier for ...
1
vote
2answers
162 views
What does the character in this Naruto poster mean?
I dont know how to type that character, otherwise I would try it out through other means.
What does the character mean? It appears in a poster concerning the Japanese manga Naruto.
1
vote
3answers
88 views
What is 猫舅 in the following sentence?
I assume this is a cultural thing that I am not aware of, but a friend just updated their status to say:
希望猫舅变成天使守护全家
Xīwàng māo jiù biàn chéng tiānshǐ shǒuhù quán jiā
Who or what is 猫舅?
1
vote
1answer
111 views
What's the difference between 蝦 and 鰕?
I found there are two characters for "xia1" (ghra as in Middle Chinese), 蝦 and 鰕.
Could someone explain what the difference is?
1
vote
3answers
124 views
problem with 要 - it seems to have several meanings
一看见这些楼房，他心里就想，自己一定要买上一套房子。
This is the sentence that I've come across. I've translated it as:
Once he sees these houses, he thinks that he can definitely buy a house himself.
But I'm always ...
1
vote
1answer
85 views
Meaning of 修养
The dictionary defines 修养 as:
accomplishment / training / self-cultivation
However many examples in context seem to have the sense of the development of being a gentleman / lady, or being ...
1
vote
0answers
81 views
What does “吃你的豆腐” mean? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the exact meaning of 吃豆腐, and where does the expression come from?
Someone made a joke with this phrase during dinner.
What does "吃你的豆腐" mean other than the ...
0
votes
1answer
118 views
询问奸雄所见略同的由来 and how does it relate to chinese
The quote"我很想询问奸雄所见略同的由来" seems very interesting to me. And in Google Translate, it translates to "I would like to ask the king's men great minds think alike the origin of." It doesn't seem to make ...
0
votes
2answers
101 views
When should 吧 be used?
I understand that it is used at the end of a sentence to indicate suggestion, but I want to know what kinds of everyday situations warrant its use. I'd appreciate two or three examples. Also, does it ...
0
votes
1answer
69 views
Can you help me to understand the technical text translated from Chinese to English?
I am translating the user manual to Russian. It is in English but translated from Chinese and about Chinese video security system (chinese software and hardware).
Probably the native Chinese ...
0
votes
2answers
104 views
Politeness in Mandarin
I like to say please sometimes when I want to be polite to someone when asking them for something. Is this customary in Mandarin?
For example, if I wanted to ask for some water, I might ask my ...
0
votes
1answer
51 views
Meaning of these signs
Could someone please tell me what these signs mean, the OCR couldn't read them.
0
votes
1answer
86 views
How to use 指 when giving a definition?
How is 指 used, what is it's role in definitions such as this (from Wikipedia):
研究生是*指*获得学士学位后继续深造.
